The present invention relates to an upright electric vacuum cleaner having a suction unit rotatably disposed at the bottom of the cleaner main body, and a vacuum cleaner hose unit that provides communication between a dust collecting chamber and the suction unit.
Hitherto, an electric vacuum cleaner of this type has been configured as shown in FIG. 34. The configuration will be described in the following.
As shown in FIG. 34, a suction unit 2 includes a rotary brush 1, and the rotary brush 1 is rotatably installed at the bottom of a cleaner main body 3. A fan chamber 5 furnished with an electric fan 4 is disposed at the bottom of the cleaner main body 3. A dust collecting chamber 6 is disposed above the fan chamber 5. A handle 7 and a control circuit board 8 for the electric fan 4 are arranged further above the dust collecting chamber 6. A cord winding device 9 is disposed at the back of the dust collecting chamber 6.
The control circuit board 8 is covered with a cover 10 at the front of cleaner main body 3. The cord winding device 9 is covered with a cord winding device cover 11 at the rear of the cleaner main body 3. Also, the electric fan 4 is covered and held with a motor cover 12 at the front of cleaner main body 3.
Also, when the vacuum cleaner is not used with its main body kept upright, the handle is turned, and a part of the turned handle is abutted against the floor so that the cleaner main body is prevented from falling down.
Also, a hose unit which provides communication between the dust collecting chamber of the cleaner main body and the suction unit is, as shown in FIG. 35, provided with screw thread 13a disposed on the inner wall of a connection pipe 13, and an adhesive agent 13b is applied to the grooves of thread 13a. The end of hose 14 is screwed in along the thread 13a of the connection pipe 13. Thus, the adhesive agent 13b hardens to secure the hose 14 and connection pipe 13, and thereby the hose unit 15 is formed.
However, in an electric vacuum cleaner as shown in FIG. 34, when the electric fan 4 is assembled, the front portion of cleaner main body 3 is first assembled, followed by installation of the motor cover 12. On the other hand, when the cord winding device 9 is assembled, the rear portion of cleaner main body 3 is first assembled, followed by installation of the cord winding device cover 11. During the assembling job, it is necessary to properly turn around the cleaner main body 3, making the assembling jobs bothersome. Similarly, when the electric vacuum cleaner is disassembled for a servicing purpose, it is also necessary to properly turn around the cleaner main body 3, making the job troublesome.
Further, when the vacuum cleaner is not used with its main body kept upright, the handle is turned, a part of the turned handle is abutted against the floor so that the cleaner main body is prevented from falling down. Accordingly, the user has to turn the handle each time, and it causes a nuisance to the user. Furthermore, a handle turning mechanism is disposed at the root portion of the handle, causing a considerable limit to the design.
Also, in an electric vacuum cleaner having a removable hose, when the rear portion of the cleaner main body is cleaned, removing the hose and fitting an attachment or the like thereto, there is a fear of falling down of the cleaner main body.
Further, in the case of using a hose unit as shown in FIG. 35, the hose unit includes the screw thread 13a arranged on the inner wall of connection pipe 13, causing the die cost to become higher and the molding cycle time to become longer, resulting in higher molding costs. Also, since it is difficult to provide the crest and bottom of the screw thread 13a with a great difference in level, making it absolutely necessary to use the adhesive agent 13b to secure the connection pipe 13 and the hose 14. Furthermore, the adhesive agent 13b may flow into the connection pipe 13 or the hose 14 during the connecting job. In addition, there is a fear of air leakage due to insufficient adhesion. Also, there exist problems of inadequate adhesion and longer hardening time of the adhesive agent. Thus, a conventional electric vacuum cleaner has many problems to be solved.
It is the primary object of the present invention to reduce the product costs by decreasing the number of components to be assembled and disassembled, and also to shorten the time required for assembling the components and to improve the workability.
Also, it is the second object of the present invention to obtain an electric vacuum cleaner such that, when the vacuum cleaner is not used with its main body kept upright, the user is not required to operate a handle or any other preventive mechanism to prevent the cleaner main body from falling down, thereby improving the usability and the design convenience including the handle.
Further, it is the third object of the present invention to obtain an electric vacuum cleaner such that, when the rear portion of the cleaner main body is cleaned, removing the hose from the suction unit and fitting an attachment or the like thereto, the cleaner main body does not fall down even if the hose is strongly pulled backward, thereby improving the safety and the usability.
Also, it is the fourth object of the present invention to provide a high-quality hose unit for electric vacuum cleaners.
An electric vacuum cleaner to achieve the primary object of the present invention comprises a cleaner main body, and a suction unit which is rotatably disposed at the bottom of the cleaner main body and is provided with a suction port and a rotary brush, wherein the cleaner main body includes a dust collecting chamber disposed above a fan chamber equipped with an electric fan disposed at the bottom thereof, and a handle having a grip portion and a control circuit board above the dust collecting chamber. The components such as the handle and the electric fan are installed at the rear of cleaner main body.
In this way, since the components of the handle and the electric fan or the like are installed only at the rear of cleaner main body, it is not necessary to turn around the cleaner main body when assembling the components. So, the number of components to be assembled and disassembled may be decreased, resulting in lower product costs. Further, it is possible to shorten the time required for the assembling job and to improve the workability.
Also, in an electric vacuum cleaner to achieve the second object of the present invention, a cleaner main body having a dust bag furnished with an electric fan is mounted for universal movement on a suction unit having a suction port to take in dust, and a support portion is retractably or rotatably disposed on the cleaner main body in order to support the cleaner main body. The support portion nearly abuts on the floor surface only when the cleaner main body is in an upright position due to a mechanism formed at a part of the cleaner main body. The configuration is such that the support portion""s abutment on the floor surface is outside the plane projected on the floor surface by the caster roller and the front end of the suction unit.
Thus, when the cleaner main body is set upright after using, the support portion is automatically abutted on the floor surface by the function of a cam mechanism so that the cleaner main body is hard to fall down. The user is able to make the cleaner main body hard to fall down without operating a handle or any other preventive mechanism, and it is possible to improve the usability and the design convenience including the handle.
Also, in an electric vacuum cleaner to achieve the third object of the present invention, a cleaner main body equipped with a dust collecting chamber and an electric fan is mounted for universal movement on a suction unit having a suction port to take in dust, and a connection hose detachably connected to the suction unit provides communication between the suction unit and the dust collecting chamber, and a support portion is retractably disposed on the cleaner main body in order to make the cleaner main body hard to fall down. When the hose is disconnected from the suction unit, the support portion protrudes behind the rotational center of the caster roller.
With this configuration, when the rear portion of the cleaner main body is cleaned, removing the hose from the suction unit and fitting an attachment or the like thereto, the cleaner main body does not fall down even if the hose is strongly pulled backward, and thereby it is possible to improve the safety and the usability.
Also, a hose unit for electric vacuum cleaners to achieve the fourth object of the present invention comprises a hose and a hose cover. The hose cover has a cylindrical portion in which the hose is inserted, and an opening is formed in a part of the cylindrical portion, and there is provided a protrusion on the inner wall of the cylindrical portion along the opening.
With this configuration, it is possible to structurally simplify the die to be used and to lower the cost. Also, the hose may be assembled without using an adhesive agent since the hose is guided by the protrusion, and thereby it is possible to improve the assembling workability and to obtain a high-quality hose unit for electric vacuum cleaners.